The country’s rice stock grew to 2.44 million metric tons as of Nov. 1, or 37.7 percent more than the volume a month earlier, as the bulk of the year’s main harvest reached storage a week before Supertyphoon “Yolanda” struck.
However, the total rice supply during the period was 12.4 percent smaller than the 2.78 million MT recorded a year ago.
According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, the inventory was good for 72 days’ consumption.
Based on the government’s measure of rice self-sufficiency, supply must exceed yearly demand by 90 days’ worth of buffer stock.
Of the total stock, about three-fifths or 43 days’ worth of rice was with households while about one-fourth or 19 days’ worth was in commercial warehouses.
Households were keeping 1.45 million MT by volume while commercial warehouses held 640,000 MT.
The National Food Authority was keeping 350,000 tons, which was about one-seventh of the total stock and good for 10 days.
This prompted the NFA to import 500,000 MT to top up its stock, part of which had been used in relief efforts for people affected by typhoons, particularly of Supertyphoon “Yolanda.”
The NFA is mandated to maintain a buffer stock that should last for 15 days which, at a national consumption rate of 34,000 MT daily, is about 500,000 MT.
The Philippines’ rice producing regions have been badly hit by a series of typhoons and monsoon rains in the past several months.
Yolanda, alone, destroyed at least P1.2 billion worth of palay, according to the Department of Agriculture.
On top of that, the supertyphoon put a strain on the NFA’s inventory as it had to release stocks to devastated areas.
As of Dec. 4, the grains agency had given out 713,307 bags of rice since the start of the year, mainly to agencies involved in relief operations for people affected by natural and man-made calamities.
The bulk of the stocks released, totaling 597,707 bags, went to Yolanda survivors. The rest went to those affected by various typhoons that hit other parts of the country earlier, the earthquake that struck Bohol and Cebu, the standoff in Zamboanga and the exodus of Filipinos back to Mindanao due to another standoff in Sabah, Malaysia.